Olympic paranoia causes visa
hurdles By Kent Ewing
HONG KONG - Demonstrations and
fulminations we expected, but who predicted that
the Beijing Summer Olympic Games would also be bad
for business in China? Increasingly, however, that
appears to be the case.
New visa
restrictions on travel to mainland China, imposed
without warning recently by the central
government, have prompted a flood of protests of a
different kind in Hong Kong. Pro-Tibet and
human-rights activists have not yet hit the
streets - they're probably waiting for the Olympic
torch relay to arrive May 2 - but the American
Chamber of Commerce and much of the rest of the
expatriate business community are standing up for
their rights. And it's hard to blame them. In the
blink of an eye, doing
business in China has gone from
being manageable to downright burdensome.
It all started when Hong Kong travel
agents announced this month that, according to
information they received from the commissioner's
office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the
city, visa prices had risen and no new
multiple-entry visas would be issued until
October. In addition, the agents reported, the
easy-entry, quick-stop visa to Shenzhen, the
bustling mainland city located just north of Hong
Kong, has been canceled.
That bad news -
which will result in considerable expense and
inconvenience for frequent business travelers to
the mainland - was followed by another bombshell:
alarmed travel agents now say that commissioner Lu
Xinhua is insisting that all visitors to the
mainland must show return travel tickets and hotel
vouchers in order to obtain a visa - even if they
are just border-hopping to Shenzhen, a hot spot
for what used to be quick-and-easy shopping
expeditions.
Moreover, according to the
Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents, citizens
of 33 countries will no longer be able to obtain
China visas in Hong Kong. Now, unless they are
residents of the city, they must apply in their
home countries. Among the countries affected are
India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines,
Turkey, South Africa and Nigeria. Applicants for
business visas are also required to submit a
letter of invitation.
Since these latest
restrictions were announced last week, Lu's office
has been flooded with complaints from business
organizations and queries from reporters. The
response so far has been meager and
unsatisfactory. Although the office issued a
statement saying that multiple-entry visas "could
be issued", there has been no explanation for the
changes and no attempt to address the concerns of
tourists and business travelers who will be
adversely affected by them.
The local
media have stepped into this communication void
with stories of travelers who are already
lamenting the new rules, but these reports are
full of conflicting information. Confusion reigns,
and frustration is building.
The reason
for these cumbersome, suddenly imposed
restrictions can only be Beijing's now
Olympic-size paranoia over security at the Games.
What's not clear, however, is how the changes
would make China any more secure. While they may
indeed discourage legitimate business travelers, a
determined terrorist masquerading as an
entrepreneur could still jump through all the
newly established hoops, as could any
run-of-the-mill anti-China protester.
The
Hong Kong government, which is also getting an
earful from business representatives in the city,
is caught between a rock and a hard place. Hong
Kong thrives as a commercial conduit to the
mainland, but its political leaders are also
beholden to the Communist Party in Beijing. So
far, this is the best a government spokesman could
muster for the city's unsettled business class:
"The government has reflected the views and
concerns of the Hong Kong business community to
mainland authorities."
With such tepid
official support, business organizations have
started their own campaign. The city's European
Chamber of Commerce led the way with a letter to
Lu calling for an urgent meeting to resolve the
issue, and the chamber has also filed a written
complaint with the Hong Kong government.
"This is already having, and will
increasingly have, a very negative impact on our
members and the conduct of their business in China
and Hong Kong," the letter stated.
Joerg
Wuttke, president of the EU chamber on the
mainland, called the restrictions "truly annoying"
and slammed the central government for
implementing them before they were even published.
"There is no transparency," he charged.
Christopher Hammerbeck, head of the
British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, joined
the chorus of disapproval, telling Agence France
Presse: "It means that business travelers into
Hong Kong who find someone they want to do
business with are not able to go over the border
and see their factory. Long term this is going to
make people think perhaps they should be looking
elsewhere, maybe India or Vietnam."
The
British Foreign Office has reportedly registered
its concern with mainland authorities.
Hong Kong's American Chamber of Commerce
is also taking an aggressive stance. Calling the
restrictions a "significant step backwards", the
chamber has launched a survey of its 1,600 members
and sent 30 letters of complaint to Lu's office.
So the pressure is on, and the central
government must respond soon. The problem boils
down to this: important travel rules have been
suddenly and inexplicably changed to the detriment
of all concerned. Tourists and business travelers
are inconvenienced and out of pocket, and the
Chinese government appears bumbling and
incompetent because of the abrupt and confusing
manner in which the changes have been implemented.
Finally, there is the unanswered avalanche of
complaints to deal with. Meanwhile, do this
summer's Games in Beijing look any more secure?
It would take someone with authority to
revoke these arbitrary new restrictions, yet
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has been silent. If
they remain in place, China may find the list of
those protesting against Beijing as host of the
Olympics has expanded to include lots of people
with business cards to hand out while they're
demonstrating.
Kent Ewing is a
teacher and writer at Hong Kong International
School. He can be reached at
kewing@hkis.edu.hk.
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